Tri-Rivers/Tri-County baseball

PUTNAM COUNTYThe Midgets are relying on a solid group of juniors to help lead PC this season.

“We have a group of seniors that is showing a lot of dedication to this point in our season. Our juniors are our foundation, and we will go as far as they want to take us,” said Putnam County head coach Jason Salas.

Early in the season it is going to be key for PC to keep working hard.“As our players continue to build their skills, they will build their confidence in themselves and in one another. Our success as a program will come when our players have done the work necessary to develop their skills, and they bring confidence to compete in every contest,” said Salas.

Although the juniors are leading the program, the youngsters are improving and pushing PC to where they need to go.

“Our freshman class also shows a lot of promise, there is no drop off in commitment with those players. I like the direction we are headed, and I expect our players to grow and to achieve a lot this season,” said Salas.

LA PLATAThe Bulldogs have become a Tri-County powerhouse.

“Our No.1 goal is to win the district tournament,” said La Plata head coach Jesse Wolf.

La Plata is counting on big performances from two sophomores. Tanner Riggins and Matt Safley.

“For us to get where we want to go Tanner has to have a huge season for us, we need him to throw strikes and keep his innings down. Matt is our leader, I can play him anywhere and I know he is going to give me all he can,” said Wolf.

Safley will be LP’s No. 2 starter.

The rich are getting richer with the play of freshman Jace Brown.“Jace has an unbelievable amount of talent and he is starting to realize what he can do with it,” said Wolf.

Brown will see some time on the hill, but will play a lot of third base.After recent success the Bulldogs have raised expectations.

“If we win all the games we should win I truly believe we should be more than capable of making the Final Four,” said Wolf.

ATLANTAThe Hornets are looking to challenge with a strong starting staff.“We have a lot of experience coming back with four junior pitchers, we have a strong starting staff and our pitching is pretty much set,” said Atlanta head coach Jason Daniels.

Atlanta knows what they have on the mound, at the plate is where the Hornets have some questions.

“We never know what will the season will bring in terms of scoring runs,” said Daniels.

Lance Weber will start the season as the No.1 for the Hornets. Collan Thrasher is coming off an injury and had his innings limited during the fall season. Even though Atlanta has a deep staff, Thrasher’s health is going to be a key for their success.

“I have no problem throwing any of our guys against anyone. I feel like we can be a No.1 or 2 seed in the district tournament and have a chance to go pretty far. A district championship will be a success for us,” said Daniels.

KNOX COUNTYUnlike some of the other Tri-Rivers teams the Eagles are returning 8-of-9 starters, which has some coaches around the conference thinking Knox County might be the team to beat this season.

“We have been doing nothing but getting better everyday. It’s going to be a tough conference, but I feel like if we play like we can, we should be OK,” said Knox County Mike O’Haver.

O’Haver is looking for sophomore Cedric Boone to have a breakout season. Boone saw a handful of varsity innings last season and has since added 10 miles to his fastball and has improved at the plate. Boone will be the Eagles starter behind the dish, and will work in on the mound.

Donovan Edwards will be KC’s No. 1 starter as he is coming off an all-conference season.

Knox County struggled last season as they lost a lot of close games.“Last year was a little rough for us. If we play to our potential I feel like we can flip our record from 3-14, to 14-3,” said O’Haver.

BRASHEAR The Tigers are looking to build for the future and pick up some wins along the way

“We are definitely in a rebuilding state of mind this year. We are trying to establish the correct fundamentals and how to play the game the right way. We can’t base our success on wins and losses but how we improve from day-to-day,” said Brashear head coach Kyle Robuck.

Coming off a productive fall season, Robuck is looking for juniors Luke Morrow and Curtis Blakely along with sophomore Gabe Thomas to have a break through spring at the plate.

On the mound is where the Tigers will have the most stability with the duo of Hayden Housman and Nick Bradshaw. The two will also anchor the BHS lineup.

With a young team comes a different set of goals for a season“Improving throughout the season and trying to win as many games as we can is going to be the biggest thing for us,” said Robuck.

SCOTLAND COUNTYThe Tigers lost their two starting pitchers, starting catcher, shortstop, and third baseman to graduation.

“We only have three seniors coming back so we are going to be a young team and with that comes uncertainty. Along with our youth we haven’t had much outdoor practice time and haven’t been able to work on defensive fundamentals,” said Scotland County Daniel Burns.

With the losses SC suffered that has opened the door for other players to step up. Burns is looking for juniors Cordie Kigar and Austin Thrasher to take over on the mound. Three sophomores are on the watch list including new starting catcher Tyler Buefort. Jacob Hull will be looked at to fill the hole at second base, and Jacob Blessing will have an increased roll that could see him get playing time on the infield.

“Knox County is really good and probably going to be the favorite, but I also feel the conference is a little wide-open. If we come out and compete everyday I feel like we can be right there,” said Burns.

SCHUYLER COUNTYThe Rams are looking to replace key losses and stay a contender in a loaded Tri-Rivers Conference.

“We lost a lot of key players and we are looking to find an identity right now. I feel like we can still compete for a conference and district championships,” said Schuyler County head coach Steve Stock.

SC is going to look at players like junior Dalton Shivley, Dan Halley, and Traven Miller to step up and fill some of those roles.

Christian Anderson is the unquestioned No. 1 starter and has the potential to be the best pitcher in the Tri-Rivers. His ability to dominate games and keep other teams down can give Schuyler County the edge they need to compete.

Even though they are young the Rams have developed a history of success, which means there isn’t much time to rebuild.“We should compete every year for a conference and district title,” said Stock.

GREEN CITYThe Gophers are a young team who are looking to improve off their fall season which saw them suffer some growing pains.

“We are a young team and I feel like we can gain a lot of positive experience that will help us come district time,” said Green City head coach Dale Whitacre.

Green City does not have a senior on the roster, which will give a handful of sophomores a chance to make an impact on the field this spring. Handley Williams will take over behind the plate and Green City is looking for a big season from Zach Powell in the outfield.

One of the few upper classman is junior pitcher Jared Brundage who will be the Green City ace. Much of success for the Gophers this season will rest on the arm of Brundage.

“I feel like we should make a push to get over the .500 mark and if we continue to work hard I feel like we can be the top seed in our district tournament,” said Whitacre.

MILANThe Wildcats are now working with the same group of players for the third year now, meaning coach John Dabney has had this group playing together since they freshman.

“The past couple seasons we have started to put it together at the plate. Last season we were able to double our offensive output from the prior season and I feel like we can do something similar to that this season,” said Dabney.

As good as the offense could be, the Wildcats are going to win or lose games based on their performance on the mound.

Milan is looking forward to the return of two impact players. Starting pitcher Ryan Keuhn missed the second part of last season. With Keuhn on the mound the Wildcats were 7-1. They will also welcome back Bryce Shipley from a neck injury suffered at a football camp last summer.

“If we can win our conference and put ourselves in a good spot heading into districts we should have a chance to go pretty far. It would be nice to give Milan their first district title in baseball,” said Dabney

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